Saturday, July 31, 2010

The Salafi "Position" in Regards to Placing the Hands in Salah

Two Fridays ago several brothers came together at Masjid Al-Salam in Nashville, TN, to clarify the correct position in regards to the placement of the hands. Representing one side of the debate was Imam Abdullah Al-Ansary (student of Shaykh Ghudayan - rahimahullah) of the Islamic Center of Tennessee and representing another side of the debate was Imam Abdiaziz Irobie (student of Shaykh Muqbil - rahimahullah).

The end result, I believe, was that both of the imams brought there proof, and the such differences in the religion is permissiable. There is no one Salafi position regarding this issue. Salafiyyah is not a school of fiqh. Every position and Salafi holds today stands on the backs of all those before us. Whether one prayer with his/her hands below the navel, on the chest, in between the two, or at one's side, the main matter in the din is in regards to the `aqidah and the overall minhaj of our religion.

2 comments:

I was referred to check out your posting from a close friend of mine. Something stood out to me at sight of the title of your post. In our times where again "Is Islam violent?" is the question being posed by the media and other prominent non-muslim outlets and organizations, is there place to debate extensively on issues like this? It is as if we are in the Glorious days of Baghdad discoursing classical fatawa on marriage. Those days are long gone. There needs to be more discussion on establishing identity, more discussion on how to unify in a diverse community, and so many other things. Extensive debate and lecture on issues of hands I feel don't have a place in open forums anymore, they should be reserved for student circles and print media. The community at large is more confused about other matters. The manner in which many people pray is more based on the teaching of their locality while growing up in Islam. Mots people follow their tradition which alot of times is based on one of the major madhhabs.

I agree that there should not be extensive discussions (not debates) on such topics. There does, however, have to be discussions on such matters. Prayer is a part of our din and we should always be striving to perfect our salah.

As far as having discussions on "postmodern" hot topics such as identity, I think that these types of discussions are not as important as those regarding the main pillars of the religions. Even in the discussion of identity, you will find heated debates. Such a discussion is not something that will unite the hearts.

Disclaimer

This weblog tries to draw from many different ideas, cultures, religions, and methodologies that have helped to shaped whom I am. I may differ with some of the authors of some of material I post or links that I have here. My other blog "Islam is the Sunnah and Sunnah is Islam" is more oriented toward the correct Salafi understanding of Islam.

I appreciate if anyone has any criticism with regards to my blog, that you bring it to my attention.

Khalil

About Me

I am 35 years old, and I adhere to the Salafi methodology/way. I was born in the Bronx to New York Puerto Rican (Catholic) parents. During my teenage years, I starting to learn about my history since of course they don't teach us that in school. As a teenager, I had a lot of interaction with "Latino" and African-American Muslims. That lead to me taking my shahadah during my first semester of college. I eventually earned a bachelor's of art with a double major in Arabic and political science at the State University of New York at Binghamton. My concentration was in the Middle East and North Africa Studies. In 2000, I was offered a scholarship to study at Umm Al-Qura University. I studied there from 2000 to 2005. May Allah reward King Fahd (rahimahullah) for giving me a scholarship to teach in Saudi, Amin. Alhamdulillah, I have been fortunate to have sat with several scholars in Saudi Arabia. I currently live in Saudi Arabia with my wife and two children. I also hold a master's in TESOL.